Impromptu
by heroictype
Summary: A day at the festival cannot be completed without dancing, of course.


This has very clear inspiration: the song Kingdom Dance, from Tangled. Seriously, this is the product of listening to that song over and over, though it took a while to get the idea written down at all.

So, yes, it's rather silly, but I like the idea.

Princess Tutu and all related characters belongs to Itoh Ikuko.

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><p>Siegfried and Rue glided through the festival crowds solely by merit of their own grace, for the people were too many and too caught in the rush of activity for a definite path to be cleared without any sort of fanfare, and the prince had been determined to wander more freely. Though the royal presence certainly drew murmurs as they passed, and they had to pause frequently for those who wished to greet them, never did they find their way truly hindered beyond their ability to ease along, and without the princess having to leave his arm at that.<p>

They were content by each other, and yet her felt her grip on his arm to be uncommonly strong, tightening to seem ill-comforted whenever someone stopped them briefly. For these encounters, her gracious dignity had a quality of distance added to it; she never minded attention, but it appeared she still did not enjoy having to share his, and he feared it was for this that she also cast her eyes aside whenever he sought to meet them. That behavior would have seemed demure in anyone else, but he knew her far better than to suspect her of such fragility. The purpose of coming to the festival had certainly not been to upset her. Indeed, he was most determined for her to take pleasure in her time here, but he saw little he could do to improve the situation, as his presence was obviously an element of the problem. Though his kingdom had innumerable wonders, many of which were available here, he wished to offer her something better.

It was a distant note in which he found his desire, not in the gaudily beautiful colors of the displays or the shimmering of trinkets meant to amuse maidens. A tune catching his ears, one not unfamiliar to him, was what brought him bright-eyed out of his drifting thoughts.

"Come, my princess. I did not bring us here to parade stiffly about the entire time," he laughed delicately, and slid his arm from hers to lead her in a more informal escort by the hand, instead.

"Of course," she sounded certainly surprised, but as if she were unsure whether or not to be pleasantly so. His princess, it seemed, could still be caught off guard even by the one she so loved, and truth to tell, he did not mind. It made it a little simpler to draw a smile across her face, after all, and he could not reject anything that would aide him in that.

The music swelled in volume as they advanced, and a more solid collection of people became clear. When their rhythmic motion also became apparent, Rue did smile, her reassuringly familiar confidence returning at least in part. Siegfried's step quickened with his heart at the sight of it, and this time, when he looked over at her, she returned his gentle glance with a shyly coy one.

"May we, my prince?" She asked quietly, but it was very much rhetorical, that he was already stepping into the crowd with her was answer enough. She did not need his grand nod, nor the whisper that slipped into her ear above the music in his regal voice.

"You need only follow my lead, for now..."

It was, seemingly, a fairly plain piece of music, and his hands were fixed, one in her own and one on her waist, to give her guidance that she barely seemed to need that for how swiftly she responded to it. As the song swept on with its slow flourishes, whispers of who were in their midst overtook the crowd, but it had been the skill of their steps together that first brought the attention. Siegfried paid all of it little heed, focusing on leading her, while the princess's smile might have taken on the lightest of smug tints as a space grew around them.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" He inquired warmly, regarding her with an almost thoughtful half-smile of his own.

"Yes, my prince..." She closed her eyes, his leading and her own sense of graceful motion being more than enough to keep her where she needed to be, and their presence had gained them quite a bit of room to perform. She heard the prince laugh again, she thought it might almost have been teasing this time, but it was difficult to be concerned about that when the melody of his laughter was simpler to grow lost in than that which any instrument could play.

"Then, my princess... Shall we dance?"

She gasped sharply, losing her cool smile as she felt herself flying in Siegfried's hands. He had steadied them about her waist and brought her up with a rush of the music, prompting the onlookers to mimic her shocked noise as one. Her eyes sprang open, and though she was taken aback by the way his gleamed with such more than affection, she arched back, draping herself exquisitely in his hold. Her surprise had cleared quickly enough, if not the flare of abrupt exhilaration, and she quickly replied to his grand maneuvering in kind.

With the next beat, she touched the ground only long enough to start her own leap, angled to flow sideways. He completed the motion as she had trusted him to do, stretching a pointed toe along the ground to balance himself as he spun her in the air. He treated her as though she had no weight to her, even when she was brushing over the cobblestones, and his own form could have been light somehow made tangible as he supported her. It was something he enjoyed as well, after all, having all eyes trained on each pristine motion of himself and his princess; knowing that others could see the perfection they could share, and yet having her all to himself in the dance. Above all, however, he wished for everyone to appreciate her as much as he did.

So in one moment, when he held her close to him, he told her, "Show them how you shine, my princess..."

With that, he pulled away from her in a neat hop, and she was left twirling freely in the center. If she was startled this time, and he supposed that she was, then she was doing an excellent job at concealing it now. There was an audience, of course, and she had no intention of failing to stand on her own. She kept turning, and seemed to rise into the motion even without coming en pointe. Intensity strengthened her features; her elegance became bolder, matching the swell of the music with her rapid spinning, and fulfilling his request. The people were watching their princess in delighted wonder, open amazement that was too much for excited voices to contain. Some figure in the crowd struck up a steady clapping to accompany her, and it moved through every hand, including Siegfried's.

Well, if her prince was enjoying it so much, she saw no reason to stop just yet. The side of her mouth lifted proudly as she streamed into a short skip, her steps twining to prance around him with her unbound hair fluttering and glinting in the sun. He waited with a knowing air of expectation, already assuming a suitable posture as he arched his own arms to where his fingertips just met above his head. When she finally halted to curtsy, she peered up at him with a light in her eyes that no celestial object could match, and it was new to him. It set him dancing off with a thrill, providing ethereal illumination to complement the fierce color with which she had painted their impromptu stage. He mirrored her to finish, shifting his arms level with his chest and springing from heel to toe in swift pirouettes. His eyes drifted shut in a tranquil smile as he sent that message in his dance, one to connect them and leave no doubt that they were dancing together, regardless of whether he held her.

As the song began its finale, he slid into an elaborate bow, holding the position until he felt her take his offered hand to join them again. He led her about the open circle once more, their steps fitting intricately together as they returned to the center. As the final drumbeat sounded, she felt his arm settling around her back and his fingers tightening in her; she bent into the dip just as he initiated the motion. They held the position, for their hearts were still thrumming heedless of the ended music, and the applause pouring over them was a sweet reminder of how beautiful they could be together.


End file.
